Heretofore, the prior art has made many attempts to provide various forms of apparatus employable in the sports of skiing and/or skating for using or creating some aerodynamic lifting and/or braking forces or effects.
Some of such prior art apparatus or devices were intended to be employable in both of such sports. For example, various forms of sail devices have been suggested whereby either the skater or skier would be propelled by the wind. Obviously, with such prior art devices, employed for using the wind to propel the skier and/or skater, no aerodynamic lift could be produced.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,178,165 dated Apr. 4, 1916, and issued to B. M. Lupton, Jr., discloses an appliance comprised of generally triangular sail panels which are adapted to be secured to the skater's body as to have, in each sail, the shorter edge of the sail panel extending from a point adjacent the skater's body to the skater's hand or wrist while the longer edge of the sail panel extends downwardly from the shorter edge to an area of the skater's ankle to which the sail panel is secured thereby resulting in a flexible bat-like triangular wing panel (or panels) whenever the skater extends an arm (or arms).
U.S. Pat. No. 1,859,178 dated May 17, 1932, and issued to S. A. Sprinkle, discloses a hand-held (folding) T-shaped main frame on which a triangular sail is mounted. After assembly, a skater obtains a wind propelling force as by holding the sail assembly along and on the windward side of the skater's body.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,302 dated July 31, 1962, and issued to C. A. Krylov, discloses another form of hand-held apparatus comprising a propeller like structure which is hand-held, as by the skier, to be forwardly of the skier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,870 dated Dec. 9, 1975, and issued to Mayer Spivack et al, discloses another form of hand-held sail for use by a skater in obtaining a wind driven propelling force.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,694 dated May 27, 1980, and issued to J. L. Freeman, discloses two types of mast-carried sails for use by any of a skier, skater or iceboater for obtaining a wind driven propelling force. One of such sails is of the lateen configuration while the other is comprised of separate forward and aft sails each of which extending spar. The mast, in either case, can be supported as on one ski of a skier's pair of skis, on one skating shoe assembly of a skier's pair of skating shoe assemblies, or on apparatus defining an iceboat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,324 dated Jan. 19, 1982, issued to J. E. Fries, illustrates an appliance not unlike that disclosed by said U.S. Pat. No. 1,178,165 to Lupton, Jr. (cited as a prior art reference). In this U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,324 the generally triangular panels, while being respectively secured at their lower apexes to the skater's ankles, are carried at their upper edges by common pole means which the skater, in turn, holds in an upper disposed generally horizontal position. Again, this device is employed by the skater for obtaining a wind driven propelling force.
Other prior art devices have been proposed primarily for use in the sport of skiing and such were, for all practical purposes, limited in use to downhill runs. In the main, such devices were various forms of sails to be used by the skier as aerodynamic braking means.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,213,754 dated Sept. 3, 1940, and issued to H. Thirring, discloses a cloak-like garment secured along the arms and legs of the skier and so shaped that, as seen from the front, when the skier stretches-out his arms laterally a trapezoidal or triangular air baffle sail is spread out between the skier's hands and legs with the hands still being free to hold the ski poles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,512 dated Aug. 20, 1974, and issued to Bernt Spiegel, discloses a fabric-like braking sail of a generally convex top and side edges and arranged so that the baffle-like sail is arched substantially spherically by air flow with the greatest bulge in the lower portion. The sail is provided with handles at its upper corners, for gripping by the skier's hands, and detachable latches at the lower corners for attachment to the skis or boots of a skier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,763 dated July 30, 1985, and issued to D. A. Toland, discloses an aerodynamic braking sail-like device having halves of equal area which are symmetrical about a central vertical axis and are balanced when held in the apparent wind created during a skier's downhill run. The sail has straight outer edges remote from the axis and hems along the edges forming sheaths to receive ski poles or the like. The sheaths leave central areas in which the ski poles can be gripped and the position of the grips is such that the areas above and below the line of the grips are equal so that the skier can effect counterbalancing of the apparent wind forces above and below the line. Indented pockets or balloon areas are intended to enhance the braking effect and provide more effective balance and speed control. In use, the sail is held taut between the skier's outstretched hands and, with the counterbalancing of the forces and ease of manipulation of the sail, easy and effective control of the skier's descent is said to be accomplished.
French Pat. No. 1,528,013 granted Apr. 29, 1968 (published June 7, 1968), to M. Dupuy discloses a baffle-like wing device for a braking effect. The device comprises generally laterally and vertically extending wing-like portions which are grasped at their upper ends by the skier's hands while a lower disposed medially situated portion is secured as by a belt, or the like, to the skier's waist. The wing-like portions, along their outer side edges, taper generally from a widest portion near the upper ends to a narrowest portion near the lower ends at a distance considerably below the skier's waist.
On page 19 of the October, 1986, issue of "Skiing" Magazine bearing a U.S.A. copyright notice of 1986 by CBS Magazines, a Division of CBS, Inc. (having an address of: 3460 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.) a photograph and an accompanying brief statement appear relating to a "Ski Wings" invented by one David Toland. As stated therein, the device is intended to provide air cushion cruise control (air braking) for downhill runs. The structure, as understood, is not unlike the other prior art structures hereinbefore discussed.
The foregoing group of prior art patents, starting with said U.S. Pat. No. 2,213,754, disclose apparatus or devices principally suitable for only one purpose, that being, to serve as an aerodynamic brake to help slow a fast-running downhill skier. However, such aerodynamic braking devices are inconvenient in use, not significantly effective for their intended purpose and, further, they interfere with or even prevent the skier from executing various interesting and pleasurable skiing movements and techniques.
The prior art has also, heretofore, proposed various apparatus and devices for having a skier achieve flight while wearing skis.
Austrian Pat. No. 169,440 dated Nov. 10, 1951, and issued to N. Martinak, discloses apparatus, intended for creating flight, comprising two triangular fabric wing-like panels laterally spaced from each other and interconnected at their inner apexes as by belt or strap means. The outer-most edges of the wing-like panels are of sheath-like configuration which respectively accept the skier's ski poles. It is asserted that when the skier, thusly equipped, holds his arms outstretched while still holding the ski poles aerodynamic lift can be achieved. However, this, as a practical matter is unattainable because, first, the total area of the wing-like panels would be too small to create any significant aerodynamic lift and, second, the magnitude of the resulting torque applied to the skier's outstretched arms would be unbearable to the skier. Further, to require the skier, as such apparatus does, to ski with his arms outstretched and holding ski poles is contrary to any useful skiing technique.
German patent document (Offenlegungsschrift) No. 2,310,563 published Sept. 5, 1974, of Gerhard Hanik, discloses a multi-wing structure to be worn on the upper back of a skier's body. The overall structure may have from two to fifteen load-bearing wing-like members secured to an intermediate attachment frame which has a general contour of a butterfly with spread wings. Such attachment frame is secured to the skier's back at an area near the skier's shoulders as to have at least certain of the wing-like members at an elevation at least above shoulder height. It is intended that in use the skier must lean significantly forward, at the waist, to thereby expose all of the wing-like members to the apparent wind. Even assuming that such an apparatus would be functional, the skier, wearing a cluster of small wing-like members situated generally above him (while leaning forwardly), will hardly feel comfortable or natural in his skiing techniques and maneuvers.
In book entitled "Der Schwebelauf" (The Soaring Run), authored by Dr. Hans Thirring and bearing a copyright notice of 1939 in Germany, describes a real wing structure of dimensions large enough for actually lifting a skier, employing such a wing structure, off the ground. However, with such a wing structure once the skier was airborne the skier could not control the wing as to assure either a stable flight or a safe landing.
In a publication "Manbirds" (Hang Gliders & Hang Gliding) published by Prentice-Hall, Inc. of Englewood, N.J., there is a photograph, and brief written description, of one Willie Muller who in 1971 combined skiing with hang gliding. As a consequence of such a general arrangement, the skier could take-off from a steep slope and be airborne. However, for so long as the skier was airborne, the skier could not use his skiis and therefore during such time was not actually engaged in skiing but rather in airborne gliding. After landing, a skier, employing such a hang glider, is presented with the problem of having to somehow transport the hang glider (which may weigh 80 lbs.) back-up the snow-covered hill.
As discussed, such prior art devices can be broadly grouped into two catagories the first being that group or catagory in which the wing structure, although making the skier airborne, provides no means by which the skier can control the wing structure as to assure either a stable flight or a safe landing. The second group or catagory would include devices as the hang glider wing structures which do provide for control by the skier to, at least to a significant degree, assure stable flight and a safe landing. However, among other problems attendant such prior art structures, in both catagories the skier, while airborne, is not actually skiing. Further while employing such prior art wing structures it is a practical impossibility for a skier to actually ski in any normal fashion.